The world according to me....

The North Carolina Sea Turtle Project is a complex network of various participants. The majority of them are volunteers: people concerned with sea turtles and interested in collaborating in the sea turtle project. Volunteers donate their hours in various ways, from looking for tracks of nesting females in the morning, to "nest-sitting" of soon-to-emerge clutches of eggs, to reporting stranded turtles, to helping out at the two rehabilitation centers in North Carolina. The volunteers keep track of their hours and report them to us, and using a standard conversion factor for the cash value of volunteerism, we calculate that volunteers contribute about $400,000 a year in work. The contributions of the volunteers don't stop there. They also function as educators, raising awareness of the general public on issues concerning sea turtles. They are also excellent advocates for sea turtle conservation and management. They are one of the key reasons why the North Carolina Sea Turtle Project is vibrant and active.